Apparatus for transplanting and transporting trees.



No. 690,607; Q Patented Jan. 7, |902 J.' M.- RALST0N.

APPARATUS'FOB TBANSPLANTING AND. TBANSPOBTING TREES.

' eAPPHCBtiOI-l filed Feb. 13, 1901.) I (No Model.) 2 Shear-Sheet l.

INVENTOH J: M.Rali;bon,

A TTOHNE Y 6901501 Patented Jan. 7, i902.

- .J. M. RALSTON.

APPARATUS FOR TBANSPLANTING AND TBANSPORTING TREES;

(A umu umea Feb. 13, 1901.) V

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

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UNITED ST T S PATENT" OFFICE.

JAMES RALSTON, F ALLENHURS'T, EW, JERSEY. r

APPARATUS FOR TRANSPLANTING AJND TRANSPORTI NGTREES.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 690,607, dated Januar 7, 1902. Application filed February 13, 1901. Serial No. 47.181. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES M. RALSTQN, a citizen of the United States, and'a resident of Allenhurst, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey,'have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Transplanting and Transporting Trees,

of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide to an apparatus for transplanting andtransporting trees; and it is especially adapted for handling large trees. v

The invention consists of a vehicle which is so constructed that when it is brought withi 5 in operative range of the tree to be trans plantedit is anchored there, and when the tree isready to be hoisted thesa'ddle of the raising-frame is'attached to the base of the tree, and block and tackle secured to the trunk at any convenient distance above, and as the i5 around to its positionon the vehicle on the are described by the outer end of the frame, thereby greatly reducing the power required to perform the operation and at the same time providing a more convenient and expego ditious means'of doing the work, as will now be set forth in detail.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved tree-transplanter. Fig. 2 is a top or plan view. Fig.

3 is a view of the front end of the vehicle. Fig. 4 is a top view of the saddle and'portionof. the raising-frame Fig. 5, a side view of the saddle Fig. 6, a view of supplemental portion of a saddle; Fig. 7, a side view of the lower end of the raising-frame, anchor, and portion of the stationary frame to which same is attached and Fig. 8 is a front View of the lower portion of the raising-frame'and the crossbar, a portion of the parts being in cross-sec- In constructing my invention I provide a vehicle with a body 9 of suitable length, mounted on wheels fore and aft, the front 'wheels 10of which are made sufficiently 5o strongto sustain the required weight, and

the distance between said wheels is greater,

preferably, than between the rear wheels 11,

the object being to provide ample space be.

tween them fortheball12of the tree to freely I swing'whenin position on the .vehicle. This is an'important feature, asby the herein-described method of raising treeslam able to take'up an abnormally-large bodyof earth with the tree, thus in a great measure making the'transplanting of large trees-practical, since their growth is not arrested; as is the case ordinarily where the fibrous roots are torn away. The front axle 13.is pivoted to the body in thefusual way, and to this axle the draft-tongue is secured insuch a manner that it canreadily be removed duringthe operation of raising or lowering the tree.

' At the forward end of the body 9 is a framework 14, on which is mounted a pair of grooved pulleys 15 and to the rear of said pulleys a roller 16. At the rear end ot the body is a heavy cross-shaft 17-, having at'eaoliend, preferably, a ratchet-wheel 18, and a lever 19,

hinged to thehousing in which the shaft is journaled, having at its inner end a pawl 20 in operative contact withthe ratchet-wheel. The other side of the ratchet-wheel has a hooked pawl 21 in engagement therewith,'so

that it will hold the ratchet-wheel inits rotation to any point'that it may be turned by the lever, and in like' manner the hooked pawl may be released and employed-in connection with the. lever to lower the tree At the front end of the body is a stationary frame composed of two bars 22,*secured-at their upper ends to the longitudinal sills of the body by'means of bolts 23. extend downwardly to a point near the surface of the ground,where they are bent back horizontally a short distance, and then extend upwardly, as at 24, until they are brought into contact with the lower side of the sills, to which they are attached by bolts 25. At the lower angled portions of these bars I place castings 26, each provided with a transverse hole through which is placed a cross-roll 27, one end of which" is threaded and provided with a nut 28.

The raising-frame is composed of a pair of bars 29, the lower ends of which are hinged These bars ends of said bars have a saddle hinged thereto. This saddle consists of a semicircular frame 30, of sufficient dimension to receive the largest-size tree, on each side of which saddle is a boss 31, and a bolt orstud 32 passes through the end of each bar 29 and into the boss. As a complement to this portion of the saddle is a semicircular portion composed of two hinged parts 33, each end of which has a pair of ears 34. The ends of the saddle 30 have ears 35, between which are hinged swingin g bolts 36, which are threaded and provided with nuts 37, these bolts being adapted to swing between the ears 34, just described.

The extension of each bar 29 beyond its hinged point at 32 has a bent end 38, to which is secured one end of a chain 40, which extends back to the vehicle, passing over and resting within the grooved pulleys 15 and attached at their rear ends to the cross-shaft 17, so that the lever 19 will in its operation turn the shaft 17 and in so doing cause the chain to wrap around the shaft and swing upwardly the freeends'of the bars 29, and thus raise the tree attached thereto, The cross-rod 27 has also attached thereto, alongside of the bars 29, the forward ends of bars 41, the rear ends of which rest on the ground and have right-angled bends 42. The right-angled bends of said bars rest against a suitable cross-bar 43, which is held in position by suitable stakes 44, the object being to transfer the rearward pull of the tree to the anchor instead of against the vehicle. A tube 45 is placed on the rod 27,- with the ends abutting against the anchor-bars 41, so that the latter will be firmly held in position.

In practice a block and tackle, such as is shown at 46, Fig. 1, is employed to tilt the.

tree and loosen the roots after a suitable trench has been dug around the roots, and this tackle is also employed ina measure to aid in bringing the trunk of the'tree to its horizontal position on the vehicle; but the important feature is to swing the ball of the tree clear of the excavation and to swing it up on the arc described by the outer end of the frame, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, and this is done principally by the lever 19 and the chain which has been described It will be observed that the saddle has cushions 47 on its inner surface, made of any suitable material, so that when the saddle is firmly clamped the trunk of the tree will not be disfigured by the great pressure exerted. In Fig. 6 I show a supplemental piece 48, which may be used instead of the hinged piece 33 when applied to trees of small diameter.

What I claim as new is- 1. An apparatus for transplanting trees comprising avehicle having on the forward end thereof astationary frame which extends to a point near the surface of the ground, in combination with a raising-frame hinged at one end to the lower end of said stationary frame, and having a saddle and gripping appliances for attaching the same to the body of a tree and means on said vehicle for swinging up the raising-frame, as set forth.

2. An apparatus for transplanting trees,

comprising a vehicle having on its forward end a depending frame of two bars, each U- shaped in structure extending below the front axle to permit said axle to swivel in the usual manner, in combination with a cross-rod connecting the lower ends of said frame, a raising-frame hinged to said rod and having on its outer end a saddle and means for attach ing same to the body of atree, chains attached to the end of said frame, and means on the vehicle for swinging up the raising-frame, as set forth.

8. An apparatus for transplanting trees, comprising a vehicle, having on its forward end a depending frame of two bars, each U shaped in structure,extending below the front axle, in combination with a cross-rod connecting the lower ends of said frames, a pair of anchors hinged to said cross-bar, and extending rearwardly, and a raising frame also hinged to said cross-rod and extending forwardly, and means on said vehicle for swing ing said frame upwardly, as set forth.

4. An apparatus for transplanting trees comprising a vehicle having on its forward end a stationary frame which extendsdowm wardly, in combination with a raising-frame hinged to the lower end of said stationary frame,- a saddle on the outer end of said raising-frame hinged to the lower end of said sta-' tionary frame, a saddle on the outer end of said raising-frame, and means for attaching same to a tree, a pair of grooved pulleys on the forward end of the vehicle,- a cross roller shaft on the rear end of the vehicle and le-' vers and pawls for rotating the same, and chains from said roller-shaft extending over said grooved pulleys and secured to the end of the raising-frame, as set forth.

5. An apparatus for transplanting trees, comprising a vehicle having on its forward end a depending stationary frame,in combina-' tion with a raising-frame hinged thereto and having at its outer end a saddle and means for clamping the same to the body of a tree, a pair of grooved pulleys on the forward end of the vehicle, and a cross-roller on said frame behind said grooved pulleys, a cross-roller shaft on the rear end of the vehicle and leversand pawls for operating the same, and chains from said roller shaft passing over the grooved pulleys and secured to the end of the raisingframe, as set forth.

6. In an apparatus for transplanting trees a saddle and means for clamping the body of a tree, comprising a semicircular portion having at each end a pair of ears and threaded bolts hinged thereto, a boss projecting out from each end between the ears, a curved por tion also provided with ears for receiving the ing out between eachoi' the pairs of ears in combination with a curved portion having 10 projecting ears and adapted to receive the 1 bolts, a raising-frame hinged to said saddle by means of bolts through the bosses on the saddle, as an'd'for the purposes set forth.

' Signed at Allenhnrst, in the county of Mon mouth and State of New Jersey, this 7th day 15 of February, A. D. 1901;

JAMES M. RALSTON;

Witnesses: 4

G. D. MORROW, -WM. H. Conovnn; 

